Omar Cummings returns to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Sunday for the first time since being traded to the Houston Dynamo. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, J. Patric Schneider)

Omar Cummings, one of the greatest strikers in Rapids history, returns to face Colorado Sunday for the first time since a December 2012 trade sent him to the Houston Dynamo.

“I’m really looking forward to coming back to Dick’s Sporting Goods (Park),” Cummings said. “It’s a place that I kind of grew up.”

Between 2007 and 2012, the Jamaican striker went from being a 24-year-old draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati to a 30-year-old old former MLS Cup champion and international goal-scoring veteran. Only three players have appeared in more regular season games for the Rapids than Cummings.

Omar Cummings embraces the MLS Cup after the Rapids win in 2010. (Getty)

Cummings said he’ll enjoy the familiar feeling of driving through Commerce City to the stadium, and even though he’s never dressed for the visitors there, he anticipates feeling right at home.

“I know the stadium so much, the field so much,” Cummings said. “The team has changed a little bit, but I still know a few guys. So, it still feels like I’m the home team, coming home.”Read more…

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The Rapids on Sunday moved to 0-2 with a home-opening loss to the Philadelphia Union in Commerce City. But if there’s a bright spot to Colorado’s season so far it’s the play of striker Deshorn Brown and Dillon Powers, both rookie draft picks.

Colorado’s roster this season is significantly younger, after the departures of Conor Casey, Omar Cummings, Jeff Larentowicz, Hunter Freeman and Luis Zapata.

Edson Buddle, the Rapids’ highest-profile signing this offseason, finally arrived in Commerce City on Friday from Los Angeles. His arrival was delayed because of treatment on his injured right knee, Rapids coach Oscar Pareja said.

On a splashy day of MLS trades and transfers — Rapids fans are about to learn a whole new set of Salt Lake players to despise — Colorado crept in with some significant non-moves that may signal the club’s direction this offseason.

The club said it is still negotiating contracts with Marvell Wynne, Hunter Freeman and Jamie Smith.

The MLS on Monday also released the list of players eligible for the league’s re-entry draft. Of the nine Colorado players on the list, six already have been discarded by the Rapids, including Conor Casey. And three others who are still on the cusp:

Thomas, we now know, will make $197,800 this season — making him the sixth-highest paid player on the team. He signed for a base salary of $187,800, so it’s safe to presume the $10,000 difference was part or all of a signing bonus (since he hasn’t been around long enough to earn a marketing bonus).

Rapids hang a banner in honor of the shooting victims in Aurora before Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake in Utah.

The Rapids’ freefall into insignificance in the MLS playoff race continued against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday night as Colorado dropped its fifth straight match. With the loss, the Rapids officially surrendered the Rocky Mountain Cup to RSL for a sixth consecutive season.

Although the Rapids starting XI more closely resembled the B-squad lineups former coach Gary Smith ran out against CONCACAF Champions League competition last season, this match was a microcosm of the 2012 MLS season, as the Rapids failed to finish goal-scoring chances, and were punished for defensive mistakes, losing 2-0.

Against Toronto, we saw the same things we’ve seen time and time again from this squad: lots of possession at times, some lackluster defending and plenty of chances that went wanting. There were some good signs throughout the game, of course. For once, a tweak to a road lineup worked out well in the form of Wells Thompson getting a start, and Tyson Wahl showed decently in his first ever start as a Rapid.

Still, when a 2-1 loss is staring you in the face, the negatives always seem to outweigh the positives. The ratings: